Car-truck



(No Model.)

3 SheetsSheet 1.

G.G.PLOYD.

CAB. TRUCK. No. 587,948. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

M X) it 0 m? w a Q? g,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. G. FLOYD.

GAR TRUCK. No. 587,948. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

THE mums PETERS cu, m Ta I mm, W

3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No Model.)

G. G. FLOYD.

GAR TRUCK.

Patented Aug. 10,1897.

INVENTOR Z we ms mas c0. WYO-LIYNQ. vmmncrou, o. c.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

GEORGE FLOYD, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

CAR-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,948, dated August10, 1897. Application filed January 12, 1897. Serial No. 618,985. (Nomodel.)

To caZZ whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. FLOYD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Trucks; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in car-trucks, and particularly tothat class of car-trucks which are known as pedestaltrucks.

It consists in the combination of a truck provided with pedestals andside frames formed of arch-bars.

It also consists in the combination of a truck having pedestals, sideframes formed of arch-bars, and a transom consisting of I- beams.

It also consists in' the combination of a truck provided with pedestals,side frames formed of arch-bars, and a cross-frame or transom,journal-boxes having spring-seats formed upon their upper sides, springsresting upon said seats, and means for resting the weight of the truckupon said springs.

It further consists in certain other novel constructions, combinations,and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved pedestal caretr.uck,parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 isa top plan view of aportion of said truck. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewof a portion of the transom and one of the side frames. Fig. 1represents a vertical cross-section of the transom through its centralportion. Fig. 5 represents an end ele vation of one side of my improvedtruck. Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of a journal-box, partially insection, showing the spring-scat .formed thereon. Fig. 7 represents aside elevation of a portion of my truck, illustrating the manner ofremoving the wheels and journal-boxes. Fig. 8 is a detail view of theend portion of the tie-bar for the pedestals. Fig. 9 is a detail view,in side elevation, of a portion of a truck, showing strengtheningplatesapplied to the side frames. Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view of thesame. Fig. 11 is a detail top plan view of a portion of the side framesand bolster strengthened in this manner. Fig. 12 is a detail top planview of a portion of a truck,showin g another form ofstrengthening-plate applied thereon. tail side elevation, and Fig. 14.-is a detail sectional View of the same.

- A in the drawings represents my improved car-truck; B, the cross-frameor transom thereof C, the side frames, and E the pedestals securedtherein.

It is my purpose to construct a pedestaltruck that may be built in anycar or railroad shop with the usual tools at hand in such shops and tobuild it of common, standard, and commercial material always on hand inalmost all railway and car shops. My purpose is also not only to usecommon and standard material but to use it in such a way as to requireas little work as possible in assembling the parts of the truck.

For the side frames of the truck I contemplate using the diamond orarch-bar truckframe similar to those now in common use. These sideframes C are preferably composed of top arch-bars c and bottom invertedarchbars 0, to the central portions of which are secured the ends of thetransom B. The ends of the arch-bars c and 0' meet above thejournalboxes, as illustrated. The cross-frame or transom B is composed,preferably, of two I-beams b b. It will be noticed that vthey willrequire no bending or forging or special shaping by special machinery.In fact the rolling-mills willcut them off at the proper length withoutextra charge. Then the only work to be done on these I-beams is to drillthe holes for rivets. The I'beams b b are attached to the arch-bars cand c by rivets or bolts. To strengthen thisconnection as well as tohold the truck perfectly square and in true, gusset-plates b are usedbetween the arch-bars c c and the top and bottom of the Lbeams. Thearch-bars c c and I-beams b b are further connected, strengthened, andbraced by the braces 0 The usual side Fig. 13 is a de-,

bearings of the truck (not shown) are located 7 on top of the uppergusset-plates the usual distance from center of the truck. The centerbearing 10 is riveted to a large plate 17 which plate is riveted to thetop flanges of the I-beams b b. This plate b serves as a bearing onwhich center bearing 11 rests and also holds the top flanges of theI-beams Z) I) together, stiffening them by connecting the two together.The center bearing 19 is further supported and the I-beam braced andtied together by the braces B. To prevent the bottom flanges of thebeams spreading, they are held together by the tie-plate 13 connected tothe web of the beams Z) I). This connection is made to the web so as tomake no holes in the bottom flanges of beams, as the bot tom flanges atthis point are under a tension strain and holes would weaken them. Theside frame of arch-bars and cross-frame of IV-beams are in themselvesold and time-tried constructions, but in my truck are used and appliedin a new way.

Instead of attaching the ends of. the archbars 0 and c where they meetover the top of boxes DD directly to the top ofjournal-boxes, as iscommonly done in arch-bar trucks, the bolts 6 and e that are used forthis purpose pass downthrough the journal-box guide-bars e e, one oneach side of each box, and then on through the tie-bar e Thus pedestalsor rectangular frames are formed. with the archbars 0 c for the top, theguide-bars e e for the sides, and the tie-bar e for the bottom, in whichthe journal-boxesfD D slide vertically up and down.

The journal-boxes D D are provided with lugsor guides dd, that engagethe guide-bars e 6, thus preventing any transverse motion of the boxesin the pedestals.

On top of each journal-box D is a seat D, in which rests a journal-boxspring F. The spring-seat D is elevated above the top of the journal-boxproper and is connected to top of said box and supported by two legs orwalls d d. The box, seat, and vertical walls are preferably cast in onepiece. An opening or hollow spaced is formed by the seat D, the twowalls cZcZ", and the top of the journal-box proper, D, through which theends of the arch bars cand 0 pass and in which they work up and downvertically. This opening d is a trifle wider than the arch-bars to allowthem to work freely. The height of this opening 61 is made equal to thethickness of the two arch-bars c 0 plus the extent of compression of thespring F.

The spring F, resting in the seat D, isalso provided with a cap G, whichin turn supports a springyoke H. The cap G has two lugs or projections gg to hold the yoke H in position; The lower ends of the legs of the yokeH are turned out at right angles to the legs, as ath, and have holesbored in them to receive the bolts 6 6. These bolts 6 6 pass through theaugleshh of thelegs of the springyoke H, through both arch-bars c 0',through the guide-barsee', and then through the tiebare holding thesemembers or parts all firmlytogether. It will thus be seen that the sideframes are hung upon the springs F F by the yokes H H, the springsresting upon the seats D D upon the journal-boxes D D. The length of thelegs of the spring-yoke H are such that when nuts of the bolts 6 e aredrawn up tight it will give the spring F a little compression, so as tohold the arch-bars up hard against the bottom of the spring-seat D,which will leave all the difference between the height of the opening 61and the thickness of the two arch-bars between the bottom of arch bar 0and the top of journal-box proper. This space between arch-bar c and topof box D is to allow for the compression of the spring F under load ofcar.

Fig. '7 shows the method of opening the pedestal to take out a pair ofwheels.

The ends of tie-bar e are slotted from the hole of bolt 6 out to theend, as. shown at e in Fig. 8. This would leave the lower end of theguide-bar 6 so it could be pushed out away from the journal-box in adirection lengthwise of the tie-bar e or slot a To prevent this beingdone, the end of, the tie-bar e is turned up at right angles, as at a.This angle or lip e bears against the guide-bar. e and holds the same inplace against the side of the journal-boxes. The outer bolt eis usedwith the nut on top.

The process of removing a pair of wheels is as follows: The nuts of thebolts e e are taken ofi. Then the tie-bar e can be forced down until theangles 6 will clear under the guidebar 6. The outer bolt 6 is pulleddown until it will clear the under side of arch-bar 0. Then the outerbolt 6 and with it the guidebar 6 may be removed, as shown in Fig, 7 ofthe drawings. The inner bolt 6 is driven up enough so the spring-yoke Hmay be. raised and turned around, as shown in Fig. 7, when spring F andcap G may be lifted 01f, and then the wheels with the boxes still on thejournals may be rolled out. The. outer bolts 6 e are preferablyinverted, as shown, for the reason that in most of the cars now builtthe bottom of the car-body is only thirty-six to thirtyeight inches fromthe traclgwhich only leaves about eleven to. twelve inches from top of.

arch-bar c to bottom of car. The bolt- 6 is about eighteen inches long.Therefore the head ofthe bolt would strike the car before the thread endof the bolt would be out of the holes in the arch-bar. Even by placingthe head of the bolt (2 below, asshown, itcan.

only be dropped about ten inches, or to a level with the top of track.So the difiiculty which might arise therefrom is obviated by slottingthe end of the tie-bar at e and turning up the angles 6 as hereinbeforedescribed.

In adapting my trucks for use upon cars of heavy capacity it isadvisable to strengthen the arch-frames which bear the weight of thetransoms and car-bodies. For this purpose I contemplate usingtie-plates, as illustrated in Figs. 9, 10, and 11 of the drawings. TheseplatesJ J are of the same width, as theflanges of the I-beains J J coverthe ends ofthe same, pass up and down by the outer edges of thearch-bars j j, and are bent at right angles at their ends, as atjj.The-top angle j folds over on the top side of the top arch-bar j, andthe bottom angle j folds under and against the bottom side of the lowerarch-barj. The angles of the plates J J are secured in place by the samebolts or rivets that secure the arch-bars j and the gt1sset-platesj tothe flanges of the I-beams J J at this point. In this simple inexpensivemanner I prevent the possibility of the arch-bars being spread apartunder heavy strain. Y

In Figs. 12, 13, and 14 I show another way of strengthening thearch-frames. Vv hen using the tie-plates K K as illustrated in thesefigures, I dispense with any braces like those shown at c in Figs. 1 and3 and cause a simple single plate to perform the offices of braces,tie-plates, and gussets. The plate K is wide enough to cover the ends ofboth of the I- beams K K of the transom and is bent so as to fold overthe top of the upper arch-bar k and under the bottom of the lowerarch-bar 713, as at k, and back against the upper and lower flanges ofthe I-beams K K, extending toward the center of the truck. Thus thetruck is not only held square and in true, but the arch-bars aresecurely tied together. The tie-plate K is bent snugly against bothsides of the arch-bars k ]t' and is riveted securely to both thearch-bars and the flanges of the I-beams K K.

A part of the vertical edges of the tie-plate K-between the arch-bars isbent in at right angles to the plane of the plate and parallel with theplane of the webs of the I-beams K K, as at W, to which webs saidbent-in portions are riveted. This prevents the web of the I-beams frombuckling under a load, as well as serving to hold the frame in true. Byconstructing trucks in this manner they are capable of sustaining carsof the largest capacity without injury or danger.

It will be observed from the foregoing that I am enabled by constructinga truck in accordance with my invention to produce one which willbe apedestal-tru ck with side frames of arch-bars similar to the ordinaryarch-bar truck, and also one in which the manner of forming the pedestalconnecting the archbars,pedestals, j ournal-boxes, springs,springyokes,spring-seats, and caps is such that by removing a part of the same thewheels and axles, with the journal-boxes, may be rolled out ordisconnected from the truck without having to raise the truck with itsload of car and load any more than just enough to take the weight fromthe journals of the axles, and all this accomplished in the cheapest,most simple, and most durable manner. The matter of changing the wheelsand axles under freight-cars particularly is a very important thing toconsider in truck construction, for the labor connected therewith andthe cost of the same amounts to a great deal. It is found that abouttwo-thirds of the labor is in the time taken up by having to raise thecar high enough for the pedestals to clear the top of the j ournal-boxesin trucks now in common use. It will be noted that I have obviated thisdisadvantage by my invention, and, furthermore, that I am enabled toproduce a truck which can be made in any railroad-car shop,

for it is composed simply of materials which are commonly kept instock'in all such shops and which require no great labor or special machinery to be put into the shapes described. 7

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a car-truck having pedestals, of side framescomprising arches, a transom connecting the said side frames,journal-boxes, springs upon the same and yokes straddling each springand bolted to the upper surface of the bars of the side frames forsustaining the truck upon the springs, substantially as described.

:2. In a car-truck the combination of a transom, side frames securedthereto, pedestals in said frames, journal-boxes having springsupportingseat-s thereon, springs upon said seats, caps upon said springs providedwith downwardly-extended projections or studs adapted to limit thedepression of the said springs, yokes resting upon said springs andpedestal-bolts passing through the pedestals, side frames and yokes forsecuring the parts in place and holding them together, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a car-truck the combination of side frames formed of arch-bars, across-frame or transom, pedestals in said side frames, journal-boxesworking in said pedestals, springseats formed upon the upper sides ofsaid journal-boxes and extending above the archbars, springs restingupon said seats, and means for resting the weight of the truck upon saidsprings, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a car-truck having pedestals, of side framescomprising archbars, a transom connecting said side frames andgusset-plates interposed between said transom and the side frames andconnecting the I-beams together for strengthening the same and holdingthe said truck in true, a center plate secured to said transom, adiagonallyarranged brace-plate for strengthening the transom in thecenter and a corrugated plate connecting the webs of the I-beams nearthe bottoms thereof for preventing the spreading of the same,substantially as described.

5. The combination in a car-truck having pedestals of side framescomprising archbars, a transom composed of I-beams, gussetplatesinterposed between said transom and side frames, and connecting the topof the I-beams and braces secured to the webs of the said I-beamsextending diagonally to the upper and lower arch-bars and securedthereto for strengthening the same, substantially as described.

6. In a car-truck, the combination with a IIO transom of side framescomprising arch-bars, pedestals secured to said side frames,journal-boxes, spring-seats formed uponsaid journal-boxes, and formingwith the top-of said boxes, recesses to receive the ends of saidarch-bars and springs upon said seats for sup; porting the side frames,substantially as described.

'7. In a car-truck the combination with a transom of side frames,pedestals secured thereto, journal-boxes working insa'id pedestals,spring-seats above said journal-boxes and connected to the same bysupportingwalls forming recesses through which the ends of the sideframes extend and in which they'may move vertically and springs uponsaidseats for bearing the weight ofthe truckframe, substantiallyasdescribed.

8. In a car-truck the combination with a transom and side frames, ofpedestal-s secured to said side frames, journal-boxes working in saidpedestals, spring-seats upon the tops of said journal-boxes extendingabove the side frames, springs supported by said seats, and yokessecured upon the top of said side frames, and passing over the upperends-of the springs, whereby the truck-frame is adapted to be supportedupon said springs, substantially as described.

9. In a car-truck the combination with a transom and side frames, ofpedestals secured tosaid side frames, journal-boxes working in saidpedestals, spring-seats upon the tops of the journal-boxes extendingabove the side frames, springs supported bysaidseats, cappieces uponthetops of said springs, and yokes resting upon said caps and secured tosaid side'frames, whereby the weight of the truckframe is supported bythe springs, substantially as described.

10. In a car-truck the combination of a transom, side frames securedthereto, pedestals in said frames, journal-boxes, havingspring-supportingseatsthereon, springsupon the-said seats, yokes restingupon-said springs and pedestal-bolts, passing through thepedestals, sideframes and yokes for securing the partsin place and holding themtogether, substantially as described.

11. In. a car-truck, the combination of a transom, side-framescomprising arch-bars,

vertical guide-bars mounted in the ends of said frames, formingpedestals for the journalboxes,journal-boxes movablyheldin saidpedestals and extending above. the side frames, springs resting uponsaid boxes, and means secured to the top of the side frames for suspending the weight of the truck-frame upon said springs, substantiallyas described.

12. In a car-truck the combination'of a transom, side frames comprisingarch-bars, guidebars and bolts passing through the same for securingthem in place in the side frames for forming pedestals, journal-boxesadapted to move vertically in said pedestals and extend ing above theside frames, springs upon said upon the said journal-boxes, and means onthe upper side of the side frames for suspending the truckframe uponsaid springs, substantially-asidetie-bar, vertical guides removablysecured between the arch-bars and the tie-bar to form pedestals,journal-boxes movabl'y'held in saidpedestals and extending above thearch-bars and springs for supporting the truck-frame journal-boxes,substantially as described.

14. In a car-truck the combination of a'tran som, side frames comprisingarch-bars,-vertical guides forming pedestals, bolts passing ithroughsaidpedestals for holding themin place, and a tie-bar provided with slots inends,whereb y the outer bolts with their guides may be'taken from theframes without pull- .ing' the bolts out of the guides, substantially asdescribed.

15. In a car-truck the combination of a transom, side frames comprisingarch-bars, ver

tical guides formingpedestals, bolts passing through saidpedestals forholding th'em in place, and a tie-bar provided with slots in its endsand having its ends bent up to hold the lower end of the outer guidessecurely in place, substantially as described.

16. The combination in a car-truck of side frames formed of arch-bars, atransom formed of I-beams and secured at their ends to said arch-bars,tie-plates covering the ends'ofsaid I-beams, and bent over the top ofthe upper arch-bar and under the bottom of the lower arch-bar andsecured thereto for tying said arch-bars together, substantia-lly asdescribed.

17'. The combination in a car-truck of side frames formed of arch-bars,atransom formed of I beams and secured at their ends to said arch-bars,tie-plates covering the ends of said transom and having bent endportions secured at the top and bottom to the arch-bars andextendin gover the top and bottom flanges of the I-beams toward the center of thetruck for holding the same in true, substantially as described.

18.; The combination in a car-truck of'side fra'mes formed of arch-bars,a transom composed of I-beams secured thereto, tie-plates covering theends of said transom and having bent end portions secured at the top andbot tom to the arch-bars and extending over the top and bottom flangesof the I-beamstoward the center of the truck for strengthening the same,the vertical edges of said tie-plates being bent inwardly and'secured tothe webs of the said I-beams, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix'my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE G. FLOYD. Witnesses:

LEE- ll/IONTGOMERY, H. D. MUIR.

